AJWS Selects 12 College Students for Prestigious Summer Internship Program

New York, NY; June 10, 2010—American Jewish World Service (AJWS), an international development and human rights organization, has selected 12 extraordinary college students from across the country for its highly-competitive summer internship program. The 2010 intern cohort will begin the program this week in AJWS’s offices in New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco.

AJWS partnered for a second year with Jewish Vocational Services (JVS)–a workplace development organization–to offer the JVS Kohn internship for Jewish students in Northern California and with Brandeis University to offer two students internships in New York with funding from the university’s World of Work (WOW) undergraduate fellowship.

“AJWS is thrilled to have this group of extremely intelligent, socially conscious young people join our staff this summer; they are an elite group of individuals who are filled with enthusiasm and energy and eager to learn more about our organization,” said AJWS’s director of human resources, Brooke Hirschfelder. “The internship program has been mutually beneficial for our interns and AJWS over the years. We offer them opportunities to actively participate in our work and gain experience with and knowledge of Jewish perspectives on global justice and international grassroots development. AJWS is able to not only increase its capacity, but also learn from this next generation of leaders.”

Over the course of the summer, interns will meet with members of AJWS’s executive team, staff and board to learn about the organization’s work and how it operates. Interns will also visit several nonprofit organizations that share AJWS’s steadfast commitment to social justice, where they will have the opportunity to observe how they carry out their respective missions. At the end of the program, the cohort must deliver an “Impact Project” in which they propose a solution to a departmental or organizational need they have identified during their internship experience.

AJWS’s 2010 Summer Interns:

Dana Baum, Advocacy
Dana is a junior at the University of Michigan and spent the spring semester studying abroad with The School for International Training (SIT) in Geneva where she was conducting three independent research projects on the environmental impact on Swiss meat consumption, French/Flemish relations in Brussels and UNWRA. Prior to going to Geneva, Dana was working at the Prison Creative Arts Project in Ann Arbor. Dana is an alum of Volunteer Summer, India 2009.

Mitch Berkowitz, Education and Community Engagement
Mitch is a junior at Brandeis University studying History and International & Global Studies. Mitch previously interned in the law office of Stephan T. Mashel and tutors at Temple Shalom. He is involved with his campus’s Hillel and Chabad House and is a Brandeis WOW Fellow.

Steven Collado, Management Information Services
Steven is a recent graduate of St. Francis College where he studied Information Technology with a minor in Political Science. Steven recently worked as an imaging assistant for HRA-MIS Imaging.

Sarina Duncan, Western Region
Sarina is a junior at UC Davis majoring in International Relations with a minor in Spanish and English. Sarina currently works as the secretary and features writer on the International Affairs Journal at UC Davis.

Noah Hornstein, Communications
Noah is currently studying Communication Arts with a minor in French at the Virginia Commonwealth School of the Arts. Noah spent last year working at Pyramid Studios focusing on studio production and gaining Photoshop and illustration experience.

Jen Johnson, Grants
Jen is a junior at the University of Michigan majoring in Psychology with a minor in Gender and Health. She works on the Hillel Programming Board at Michigan, focusing her efforts on marketing hunger and health programs to students. Jen is an alum of an AJWS Alternative Break trip to Nicaragua.

Sarah Kagan, Service
Sarah is a junior at George Washington University in the Elliot School of International Affairs focusing on International Development and Anthropology. She spent the past semester in Kenya where she studied health and community development. Prior to her time in Kenya, Sarah worked for CARE as an event assistant.

Shelby Layne, Development
Shelby is a sophomore at Barnard College where she works at the Columbia Daily Spectator as the Photo News Deputy Editor. She is a member of Jewish World Watch’s Board of Directors, Policy Committee and Speakers Bureau and recently interned for Congressman Henry Waxman (D-CA).

Jessica Luckett, Grants
Jessica is a senior at Hunter College studying History and Political Science with a focus on Political Theory. She has been working at the Office of State Senator Liz Krueger on the senator’s Youth Civics Advocacy Program and volunteering for The Correctional Association’s Drop the Rock Campaign.

Madeline Mayer, Development
Madeline is a senior at Brandeis University majoring in Education Studies and Near Eastern and Judaic Studies. This fall she will also begin graduate school as part of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program at Brandeis. She spent the spring semester working as a development intern at Breakthrough Cambridge and previously worked at the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City as a marketing intern. Madeline is a WOW Fellow.

Tamar Sandweiss-Back, Education and Community Engagement
Tamar is a sophomore at University of Rochester. Prior to attending college, Tamar completed a Gap Year where she split her time between the Green Guerillas, an NYC based nonprofit, Mechinat Telem in Jaffa, Israel and the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

Luba Yusim, Western Region
Luba is a senior at the University of Oregon where she majors in International Studies with a regional focus on Russian and Eastern Europe and a professional focus on Urbanization, Migration and Refugees. She recently interned at Isha L’Isha in Israel where she completed an anti-human trafficking project. Luba is a Kohn intern.